Chapter 10
Busted
Esgalmir stood on the doorstep, twisting his hat in his hands. What was he going to do? He'd managed to alienate all the Elves in this city. What he'd said might even be enough for Balimar to declare him Outcast; then he'd be completely on his own. He loitered there, wishing he could travel into the past, just a few minutes! when Malfinien slammed the door behind him.
He jumped. Of course, he needed to go home. That's what was next. He carefully jammed his hat onto his head and made his way from the house.
As he turned onto the road, he noted the girl on the park bench. Some part of him unaffected by the recent catastrophe remembered that she had been on the bus, and that she had been watching him back at the apartment, and that she was getting up and following him. That part eventually meandered its way to the forefront of consciousness, and he smiled. Truly an incompetent tail... he decided to wait until the bus to talk to her.
She did try, he could see that. She hung back as he flagged down the driver, then came running around the corner as if just trying to make it on time. Once on the bus, the girl carefully chose a seat completely out of Esgalmir's sight; by the sounds, she then unzipped her backpack and pulled out a book.
He calmly wandered towards her seat and found he was mistaken-- she had pulled out a notebook and was now scribbling in it, scribbling about me, he noticed with an inward laugh. His laugh froze, however, as he read all she had written. Eyes, hair, and... ears. Then he relaxed: she had attributed the ears to an accident or a deliberate costume. But he'd let his ears be seen; in another place and time, that could have been fatal.
He went through with his plan, though, and confronted her. "So, how interesting am I?" Her head snapped up, and her hand twitched violently, sending her pen flying through the air. He continued, amused, "I noticed you watching me at the apartment." She nodded dumbly, staring at his left hand for some reason. He glanced down and realized his subconscious had sent his hand out to grab the pen in mid-arc, and he smiled. "Here you go." She nodded again, still looking at his hand. "I also saw you follow me on the bus, to that house, and back to the bus again." Now she looked embarrassed.
"I thought you wouldn't notice me," she murmured. Esgalmir grinned.
"I didn't, not every time, but my subconscious did. Sometimes it's more alert than I am. But to return to my original question: why am I so interesting?" The girl muttered something. "Pardon?"
"Nothing," she replied, eyes wide. Esgalmir wondered why she was so afraid of him; now that he took the trouble to notice it, the girl was pressed back into her seat, her backpack had fallen forgotten on its side, and one of her hands was reaching out as if seeking an escape. He frowned.
"There is no need to be worried," he soothed. She twitched slightly again, and then smiled at him, but he could see the fear poorly concealed, and he wondered if all human children were so easily scared nowadays.
"All right, I won't be worried," she said stoutly. "And you're interesting because, well... you're very attractive and graceful and I'd like to be a reporter and you remind me of a really good actor and I think you're probably the most handsome man in Charlotte." She blushed, and Esgalmir guessed she hadn't meant to get to that last one. He laughed.
"Oh, I don't know... I don't think I am, somehow." No need to mention that he could only be most handsome man if he was a man. He grinned down at her, and saw the false bravado gradually giving way to calmness. Or, at least, she was over the panic. He tried to 'plunk' down in the empty chair across from her, but Elvish grace was against him there, and he settled into it so gently he heard the girl's slight intake of breath. Not quite a gasp, but close.
"Well, I am somewhat flattered, I suppose," he continued, seeing that she didn't have anything else to say. "If you want to be a reporter, how about asking some questions?" He grinned more broadly, and she finally gave him a genuine smile in return.
"All right, thanks! And the first is: are you an actor?" Esgalmir shook his head.
"No; just because I may look the part, and I must believe you when you say I do, does not mean I could act. No, I am not an actor."
"Just because you can't act?" she asked, grinning. "Why should that stop you?... OK. Where'd you get those points on your ears?"
Inwardly he shrank back, but he'd only suggested the interview to get to this very question. He needed an explanation that could follow the news of his ears, and fortunately, he had one ready; all the Elves did, for this exact eventuality.
"I have the rare elongilitis disease," he told her, "that manifests itself in various ways, one of which is the ears. Good for costumes, but otherwise a source of embarrassment; that's why I always wear the hat." She nodded in feigned understanding, then cast a quick glance out the bus.
"Oh shoot, here comes my stop," she exclaimed. "Thanks very much for talking with me!" The girl became a whirlwind of activity as the bus slowed, trying to close her notebook, finish the notes, and pack everything away at once. She made it, just barely, and as she headed out the door she paused. "I forgot to ask-- your name?"
Esgalmir smiled; he had a ready answer to that as well. "Al," he replied easily. The girl grinned as the doors began to shut.
"Sarah!" she called, then turned and ran off up the path. Esgalmir stood watching her, smiling slightly. There was something different about Sarah, that was sure; but he didn't know what.